Culture

Cultural and its Dimensions

 Cultural Relativism
 All cultures are equally valid and any culture deserves respect.
 Cultural relativism refers to not judging a culture to our own
standards of what is right or wrong, strange or normal. Instead, we
should try to understand the cultural practices of other groups in
their own cultural context.
 The belief that cultures must be judged on their own terms rather
than by the standards of another culture is called cultural relativism.
 An act that is immoral in one culture may be moral in another
 A holistic understanding of the term cultural relativism tries to
promote the understanding of cultural practices that are unfamiliar
to other cultures such as eating insects, pork, beef, etc.
 E.g Premarital pregnancy is good in Bontocs Society (Philippines).
Family system, Marriage, Religion, Govt, etc.
 Cultural Diversity
 Culture differs greatly from one another. (marriage, customs, profession,
family living, laws, government, trade pattern, language, religion etc.)
 The focus of behaviour varies widely from culture to culture.
 The subcontinent’s ways of living and behaving are quite different from
the Western/Arab/Chinese societies.
 There are people who believe on Hinduism while others are proud on
being Christian or Jewish or another religion.
 People are staunch believers of God while others even deny his
existence.
 In the West, for example, marital partners are chosen through the
practice of dating, while in Pakistan, till today, living aside a few.
 Jews do not eat pork, while Hindus eat pork but avoid beef.
 Westerners regard Girlfriend, and boyfriend culture as a normal part of
behavior in public places while in Pakistan it is refrained or avoided.
 Cultural Uniformity is the similarities of traits among culture
Cultural diffusion
 Different cultures are in contact with each other.
 The spreading of the cultural trait from one culture to another
 The process by which cultural traits of one society directly or
indirectly spread to other societies.
 The mixing of world cultures through different ethnicities,
religions, and nationalities has only increased with advanced
communication, transportation, and technology.
 Social media, transportation, cross-cultural interaction
 These different ideas when interacting with each other cause
the development of society in different ways and this
interaction is known as cultural fusion.
 Cultural Change

 culture is always evolving

 new things are added to material culture every day, and they
affect nonmaterial culture as well.
 Cultures change when something new (railroads, technology
or smartphones, etc.) opens up new ways of living and when
new ideas enter a culture ( as a result of travel or
globalization).
 Horton & Hunt: "changes in the culture of a society are called
cultural change."
 Kingsley Davis: "cultural changes embarrasses Occurring in any
branch of culture including, art, science, technology,
philosophy, etc. as well as changes in the forms and rules of
social organization.
 Birthday party, Mehendi, Nuclear family, old age homes, etc.
 Multiculturalism

 Word that describes a society where many different cultures

live together.
 No official (decided by the people in charge) culture that every
person must be a part of. Instead, all cultures are respected as
much as each other.
 A multicultural society can result when people from many
different countries migrate to one place, or an empire
conquers many countries.
 Tolerance is a big help for multiculturalism, xenophobia hurts
it.
 A belief or policy that endorses the principle of cultural
diversity and supports the right of different cultural and ethnic
groups to retain distinctive cultural identities.
Power distance

 A term that describes how people belonging to a specific culture

view power relationships between people (superior/subordinate
relationships), including the degree that people not in power
accept that power is spread unequally.
 Power distance is the degree to which less powerful members of
institutions and organizations accept that power is distributed
unequally.
 In societies with a low power distance, individuals tend to try
to distribute power equally.
 Individuals in cultures demonstrating a high power
distance are very deferential to figures of authority and
generally accept an unequal distribution of power.
 While individuals in cultures demonstrating a low power
distance readily question authority and expect to
participate in decisions that affect them.
 Individualism

 The principle of being independent and self-reliant.

 Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology,
or social outlook that emphasizes the individual’s moral worth.
 All about taking care of yourself: it is the belief and practice that
every person is unique and self-reliant.
 Individualism is the freedom to do what an individual wants as an
independent person.
 the United States is known for having a strong bent
toward individualism
 because it was founded by people who sought the freedom to
practice whatever religion they chose or to follow anything they
are interested in.
Collectivism

 Collectivism is the opposite of individualism which stresses

the worth of the group instead of that of the individual.
 Collectivism has been expressed strongly through political
philosophies such as socialism and communism
 In an individual country like Germany, US, etc. people tend to
have more loose relationships than in countries where there
is collectivism and where people have large extended families
 Masculinity & Femininity
 Masculinity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with males.
 It is a social construct, not a biological
 society in which emotional gender roles are distinct: men should be assertive,
tough and focused on material success.
 In many cultures the idea of being a man is represented by physical
strength, toughness, earning, providing and dominating over women.
 Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with female
 women who are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the
quality of life."
 In masculine cultures, men hold more positions of power, get paid more,
and are expected to act in a masculine manner.
 Women get the short end of the stick. They are expected to be caretakers,
are paid less, and are not fairly represented in positions of power in any
field.
Diversity in the workplace

 Diversity in the workplace means that a company employs a wide

range of diverse individuals.
 Diversity in the workplace means that a company’s workforce includes
people of varying gender, ages, religion, race, ethnicity, cultural
background, languages, education, abilities, etc.
 Companies with more diverse workplaces outperform their
competitors and achieve greater profits!
 This means that employees will have different characteristics and
backgrounds, and they are also more likely to have a variety of
different skills and experiences.
Benefits of Diversity in workplace
 1. Variety of different perspectives
 If employees have different characteristics and backgrounds, they
are also more likely to have a variety of different skills and
experiences.
 Access to a variety of different perspectives is highly beneficial when
it comes to planning and executing a strategy.
 2. increased creativity.
 People with different backgrounds tend to have different
experiences and thus different perspectives.
 Exposure to a variety of different perspectives and views leads to
higher creativity.
 3. Higher innovation
 According to Josh Bersin research, inclusive companies are 1.7 times
more likely to be innovation leaders in their market.
 In a diverse workplace, employees are exposed to multiple
perspectives and worldviews.
 often come together in novel ways, opening doors to innovation.
 4: Faster problem-solving
 Harvard Business Review found diverse teams are able to solve
problems faster than cognitively similar people.
 Different experiences and views bring diverse solutions to the
table. Thus, the best solution can be chosen sooner, which leads
to faster problem-solving.
 5. Increased profits
 McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting
firm, conducted research on 180 companies in France,
Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States and found
that companies with more diverse top teams were also top
financial performers.
 6. Higher employee engagement
 Deloitte conducted research on the views and experiences of
1,550 employees in three large Australian businesses operating in
manufacturing and showed that engagement is an outcome of
diversity and inclusion.
 when employees feel included, they are more engaged.
7. Reduced employee turnover
 Diversity and inclusion in the workplace cause all employees to
feel accepted and valued.
 When employees feel accepted and valued, they are
also happier in their workplace and stay longer with a company.
8. Better company reputation
 Makes your company look more interesting.
 Make it easier for many different people to relate to your company
and your brand, opening doors to new markets, customers and
business partners.
Gender

 imagine suddenly becoming a member of the other sex.

What would you have to change? First, you would probably
change your appearance—clothing, hairstyle, and any
adornments you wear. You would also have to change some
of your interpersonal behavior.
 Contrary to popular belief, men talk more than women, are
louder, are more likely to interrupt, and are less likely to
recognize others in conversation.
Women are more likely to laugh, express hesitance, and be
polite.
 Gender differences also appear in nonverbal
communication. Women use less personal space, touch less
in impersonal settings, and smile more, even when they are
not necessarily happy (Wood 2013).
Gender

 Gender—the socially learned expectations, identities, and behaviors associated

with members of each sex.
 This distinction emphasizes that behavior associated with gender is culturally
learned.
Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men, such
as norms, roles and relationships of and between groups of women and men.
 Ideas that are assigned to a person based on sex
 Gender tends to denote the social and cultural role of each sex within a given
society.
 The role of a male or female in society known as a gender role or an individual's
concept of themselves or gender identity.
 People often develop their gender roles in response to their environment,
including family interactions.
 In general terms, "sex" refers to the biological differences between males and
females, such as the genitalia and genetic differences.
 The differences between male and female sexes are anatomical and
physiological. "Sex" tends to relate to biological differences.
Ethnicity

 An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who

identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed
common ancestry or on similarities such as a common language
or dialect, history, society, culture, or nation.
 Ethnicity denotes groups that share a common identity-based
ancestry, language, or culture.
 It is often based on religion, beliefs, and customs as well as
memories of migration.
 The major ethnic groups of Pakistan
include Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Saraikis, Muhajirs, Baloch,
Chitralis, and other smaller groups
Socialization
Socialization

 Man behaviour is learnt behaviour,

 Man is not born social, Man by birth is a biological organism,
that gradually moulds in society into a social being through
experiences.
 Socialisation stands for the development of the human
brain, attitude, behaviour and so on.
 Socialisation is known as the process of inducting an
individual into the social world.
 Socialisation refers to the process of interaction through
which the growing individual learns the habits, attitudes,
values and beliefs of the social group into which he has
been born.
 From the point of view of society, socialisation is the way
through which society transmits its culture from
generation to generation and maintains itself.
 From the point of view of the individual, socialisation is the
process by which the individual learns social behaviour,
and develops his ‘self’.
 E.g.
 Learning behaviour, skills, language, special education,
games, ways to fulfil the basic need of life etc.
Definitions
 According to Lundberg, socialisation consists of the “complex
processes of interaction through which the individual learns the habits,
skills, beliefs and standard of judgment that are necessary for his
effective participation in social groups and communities”.
 Peter Worsley explains socialisation “as the process of “transmission
of culture, the process whereby men learn the rules and practices of
social groups”.
 H.M. Johnson defines socialisation as “learning that enables the
learner to perform social roles”.
 Socialisation is, thus, a process of cultural learning whereby a new
person acquires the necessary skills and education to play a regular
part in a social system.
 The new-born is merely an organism, socialisation makes him
responsive to society.
 It prepares him to fit in the group and to perform social roles.
 Socialisation takes place at different stages such as primary,
secondary and adult.
 The primary stage involves the socialisation of the young child in the
family.
 The secondary stage involves the school and the third stage is adult
socialisation.
 Agencies of Socialisation

 Socialization is a process by which culture is transmitted to the younger

generation and men learn the rules and practices of social groups to
which they belong.
 The process that transforms a child into a reasonably respectable
human being is a long process.
 Hence, every society builds an institutional framework within which the
socialization of the child takes place.
 Culture is transmitted through the communication they have with one
another and communication thus comes to be the essence of the process
of culture transmission.
 In a society there exists a number of agencies to socialize the child.
 Formal and informal agencies
 Family

 The family plays an outstanding role in the socialization process.

Family plays the most important role in the formation of
personality.
 The parents use both reward and punishment to imbibe what is
socially required from a child.
 The family has informal control over its members.
 It trains the younger generation in such a way that it can take the
adult roles in a proper manner.
 As the family is a primary and intimate group, it uses informal
methods of social control to check the undesirable behaviors on
the part of its members.
 Basic learning like How to eat, walk, living style, basic
understanding of life etc.
Family
 Peer Group/Neighbour

 means a group in which the members share some common

characteristics such as age or sex etc.
 It is made up of the contemporaries of the child, his associates in
school, in the playground and in street.
 In order to be accepted by his peer group, the child must exhibit
characteristic attitudes, likes and dislikes.
 Conflict arises when the standards of the peer group differ from the
standards of the child’s family.
 The peer group exceeds the parental influence as time goes on.
 The growing child learns some important lessons from his peer group.
 Competition in School for the top position, different games etc.
 Educational Institutions

 Parents and peer groups are not the only agencies of socialisation in
modern societies.
 Every civilized society, therefore, has developed a set of formalized
agencies of education (schools, colleges, and universities) that have a
great bearing on the socialization process.
 The educational institutions not only help the growing child in
learning language and other subjects but also in still the concept of
time, discipline, teamwork, cooperation, and competition.
 In this way, the educational institutions come next to the family for
socialization of the growing child.
 Mass Media

 The mass media of communication, particularly Electronic

media, play an important role in the process of socialization.
 The mass media of communication transmit information and
messages which influence the personality of an individual to a
great extent.
 In addition to this communication media has an important
effect in encouraging individuals to support the existing
norms and values or oppose or change them.
 They are the instrument of social power.
 the study of poetry, the study of new knowledge, crimes, Movie,
literature, knowledge, skills, fashion etc.
Community

 Community is one of the agencies of socialization.

 A large number of socializing agencies are working for the
people in the community which educate its member
informally
 Men learn ways of life and norms through participating
and getting experience by playing role in these agencies.

 In short major agencies of socialization are Families,

schools, masjid, Hujra, political parties, and recreational
institutes.
 The child learns much from the family.
 After family, his playmates and school wield influence on his
socialization.
 After his education is over, he enters into a profession.
 Marriage initiates a person into social responsibility, which is
one of the aims of socialisation.
 In short, socialisation is a process that begins at birth and
continues unceasingly until the death of an individual.